Dorion Scouting the Kings and Navigating the Trade Waters
If the Senators were going to make a second-half push for the postseason, last week was the time to do it.
Following Monday’s tough loss to the Blues, the Senators took on Pittsburgh in a set of back-to-back games that could have brought the Senators closer to the Penguins’ second wild-card seed. Instead, the flightless birds took three of four points and after Saturday night’s 5-1 drubbing by the Jets, that loss cemented the fact that Ottawa’s season is over.
There are 36 games remaining on the docket, but the 11-point separation between the Senators and the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card seed is insurmountable at this season stage. There are simply too many teams and too many points of separation now.
It was naive to expect the Senators to be a playoff team, but the hope was that the team could put themselves closer to that threshold by the end of the season. Playing meaningful hockey and having a young core experience a sense of urgency late in the season was the ultimate goal. And, for the sixth straight season, they will inevitably fall short of it.
Despite some high-profile additions to the roster, injuries and easily identifiable holes on the roster that were never addressed have sunk the team’s chances before the end of January.
Six non-playoff seasons.
It is the worst stretch of hockey in franchise history surpassing the four non-playoff seasons that took the team from its inaugural 1992-93 campaign through the 1995-96 season.
At least that era’s 1995-96 team felt like it was organically building towards something under a new head coach in Jacques Martin. Right now, I do not know if that same sentiment exists. It feels like the organization is spinning its tires. Although there are some excellent building blocks, this systemic losing has spurred bad habits. The players cannot be faulted for their efforts, but they are not working smartly or cohesively as a group. There is no anticipation to read how plays are developing and the inattention to detail and the lack of puck support are staggering.
So, what can the Senators do?
Aside from waiting for the Galatioto Sports Partner’s online portal to open allowing prospective new owners to examine the Senators’ financials and make formal offers for the franchise, fans are waiting for the shoe to drop.
It is like we are caught in this awkward stage of knowing that fresh voices and ideas are right around the corner, but they cannot get here fast enough. In the meantime, we are left hoping that the current regime does not do anything stupid enough to set back this group any further by making a shortsighted deal that adversely impacts this team’s budget or competitiveness down the road.
The weird part is that no one really knows how much rope management has to implement change while they are still here.
Management and the coaching staff would be foolish not to recognize their situation. They are dead men walking. With their track record and this season’s disappointing results, the likelihood that new ownership will come in and allow these incumbents to remain in their roles is remote. The easiest ways for new ownership to foster optimism is to assign Daniel Alfredsson an executive title within the organization while distancing itself from the links to the Melnyk era.
Dorion remains in the general manager role and still carries the responsibility and power to make moves, but it stands to reason that he cannot make significant personnel additions or hire a new head coach without the approval of the organization’s board of directors. With an ownership change on the horizon, however, the expectation is that if a change is going to happen, it will have to be subtle and not cost the organization significantly more money now or down the road.
Dorion was on TSN 1200 a few days ago indicating the team had six more weeks to influence his decision on whether or not the organization would be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline. Most of the talking heads who dabble in the rumour have indicated that Dorion would prefer to buy. He has been making the rounds scouting in other NHL rinks.
The general manager was in Los Angeles on Thursday night to take in the Stars/Kings game and he was in Chicago Sunday night to take in the Kings’ game against the Blackhawks. The Kings boast some of the strongest right defence depth in the league, so it feels safe to assume that Dorion was there scouting players like Sean Walker, Sean Durzi and Matt Roy. Durzi is the youngest of the group at 24 years of age while Roy and Walker are 27 and 28 years old respectively. All three players have two years remaining on their contracts, but Durzi will be the only one with restricted free-agent status at the conclusion of his deal.
Of the three players, Durzi and Roy are the most desirable. They both log more minutes and shoulder more responsibility while their defensive impacts per HockeyViz are better than Walker’s. All these factors point to say that of the three, Walker is probably the one the Kings are most willing to give up.
It remains to be seen why the Kings would be interested in moving one of their NHL defenceman, but it could simply be a matter of reallocating their money. With a number of well-regarded right defencemen like Brandt Clarke, Jordan Spence and Helge Grans — the latter two who are already playing professionally in the AHL — perhaps the Kings believe they can trade one of their defencemen, promote one of their prospects and use the cap savings and acquired assets to address another of their roster’s weaknesses.
The other possibility is that the Kings may be one of the few trade partners who are in the market for a goaltender. Thanks to Cal Peterson’s struggles, the Kings are relying on the underwhelming duo of Jonathan Quick and Pheonix Copley. On the season, Kings goaltenders have stopped 87.99 percent of the shots they have faced this season. Only the Sharks and Canucks have stopped a lower percentage of shots. Head coach Todd McLellan and assistant coach Trent Yawney have familiarity with Cam Talbot from their time in Edmonton, so they may be encouraging management to pursue the veteran.
Of course, the question is should Dorion be kicking tires now?
I can understand him going on talk radio to push the narrative that he’s going to afford his team as much time as he can to influence his decisions. It is lip service. He is never going to publicly admit that his team is out of it — especially during a season in which his team was expected to be more competitive and there are 36 games left in it. Taking the legs out from underneath this young and impressionable group would be tactless.
The Senators do need a defenceman, but should this management group be allowed to acquire one?
A number of readers expressed to me on Twitter that if it is a multi-year commitment, they would not have a problem with acquiring one at the deadline. Admittedly, trading for a rental in a lost season does not make much sense, especially when the offseason could provide a larger market of available players.
Like it always does, I suppose it comes down to the talent of the player involved. Acquiring control is desirable insofar as the acquired player is actually good. Giving up an asset or two for multiple years of an ineffective player is just foolish — the Travis Hamonic experiment helps prove that. The latter point brings up another consideration, given this organization’s poor track record of evaluating veteran defencemen, should not be allowed to acquire another one while management is on its way out?
To quote Daniel Alfredsson, probably not.
Dorion and his staff have been entrenched for years and every component of this flawed roster has their fingerprints all over it.
Dorion may want to finish the season strong because he believes it will help spill over into the following season. From what we have seen from the past few seasons, that just isn’t true. It may make for a nice narrative and may help Dorion to rebuild his reputation or change the perception of his work, but in looking at recent years, the Senators have struggled to carry momentum from one season’s end into the next.
Josh Norris To Undergo Surgery, Senators Promote Ridly Greig
The Senators announced today that after tweaking his shoulder in the third period of Saturday night’s game against the Jets, Josh Norris will undergo surgery to repair his shoulder.
It is a difficult and frustrating blow for the centre. After months of rehab already cost Norris half of the season, he will now have to undergo surgery anyway. The surgery will keep Norris on the shelf for the remainder of the season.
In a glass half-full piece of news, Norris’ absence creates room for Ridly Greig. The Senators’ top-rated prospect was recalled this morning and took part in this morning’s practice. Greig skated on a line with Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux.
In his first professional season as a 20-year-old, Greig is playing at near a point-per-game pace in the AHL. In 28 games in Belleville, the centre has 12 goals and 23 points.